


Drink a Goodwill Drink

by ShaneVansen



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, UST
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-07
Updated: 2010-03-07
Packaged: 2017-10-07 19:18:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/68335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShaneVansen/pseuds/ShaneVansen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And here's a hand, my trusty fiere/ And gi'e's a hand o' thine/ And we'll tak a right good willy waught/ For auld lang syne.  (In plain old English? It's a New Year's fic.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drink a Goodwill Drink

**Author's Note:**

> Title is taken from a rough translation of the final verse of Auld Lang Syne: "And here's my hand, my trusty friend/ And give me your hand too/ And we will drink a goodwill drink/ For the days of long ago"
> 
> A series of ten drabbles. Can take place any time from S2 on, though S4 or later would have to be a magical virtual season that ignores such episodes as Lifeline or This Mortal Coil. But I'm sure we're all willing to make that leap once in a while, yes? ;)
> 
> Many thanks to Angelqueen04 for betaing, though hon, I had to keep in the double spaces. I'm too set in my ways to change, darn it! :p Remaining errors or sytlistic oddities are all mine.

**  
_[ten...]_**  
New Year's is one of the few Earth holidays that the Atlantis expedition still celebrates. Birthdays are recognized by friends, of course, and gifts are often exchanged during the time that coincides with December, but that's about it.

The official reason is that other holidays are too culture- or country-specific to be recognized by such a diverse group, but Elizabeth has her own theory as to why New Year's persists. When faced with death on such a regular basis, there's a need to acknowledge another year of surviving. It's grim, but she'll give her people any reason to celebrate.

**  
_[nine...]_**  
This year, the party is in the mess hall. The tables have been pushed to the perimeter of the room and are loaded with food; with some amusement, John notices that neither Rodney nor Ronon has strayed from the snacks all night. The _Daedalus_, currently in orbit, is responsible for the wide selection of alcohol. The mess is adorned with a weird combination of Earth, Ancient, and Athosian decorations, but somehow it works.

Teyla drifts over to him from the crowd. Rodney waves them over to the table, and together they head over to the rest of their team.

**  
_[eight...]_**  
Elizabeth politely excuses herself from the conversation with Lorne and his men and makes her way over to a group of scientists. That she's starting to feel hemmed in by the crowd and that they're out on the mess hall's balcony plays a significant role in her decision to visit with them next, she readily admits.

She nods a silent greeting to the group, not wishing to interrupt Radek's story about the time his roommate released nitrous oxide in the middle of a final exam. The scientists break into laughter, and she warms at seeing her people so relaxed.

**  
_[seven...]_**  
Even after all this time, John is continually amazed by both how much and how quickly half his team can pack away food. It's like passing a car accident, he decides; he knows what he's going to see might be horrifying, yet somehow he can't help but look.

"Elizabeth!" Rodney shouts suddenly, his mouth full, and John looks up to see that, yes, Elizabeth is on her way over. It's the first he's seen of her since their shifts ended a few hours ago.

"Hey," he greets her, and she smiles in return as he hands her a drink.

**  
_[six...]_**  
After a time, Caldwell joins their group. Eventually, perhaps inevitably, he, Elizabeth, and John end up on the outskirts of the crowd. She looks out over her people, smiling and talking and laughing, and experiences a sort of peace that happens all too rarely.

"We should go," she says, reluctant to leave when everyone is happy but knowing that they will enjoy themselves more without their bosses looking over their shoulders.

John takes her wine glass and sets it on a table. Elizabeth casts one final look across the room before turning to leave, flanked by the two men.

**  
_[five...]_**  
With nowhere in particular to be, the three of them take the long way back to the control tower as they catch up on the unimportant things. They trade stories that will never make it into SGC reports – at least, John sincerely hopes that one incident in particular will never show up in an official account….

He falls into a conversation with Caldwell about football and makes a face at Elizabeth when she rolls her eyes at them, mouthing something that looks suspiciously like, "Men!" She merely grins before throwing some stats at them that make his jaw drop.

**  
_[four...]_**  
Unsurprisingly, they end up in her office. Elizabeth makes herself comfortable on the couch. "How long before you head back to Earth?" she asks Stephen, shifting over to make room for John.

Stephen pulls one of her desk chairs over to face them. "In a couple of days," he replies, settling into his seat. "I imagine most of my crew is going to be hung over tomorrow, so we'll stick around until everyone's one hundred percent." His lips twitch in amusement.

Elizabeth smiles and tilts her head in acknowledgement. "Probably a wise decision," she agrees wryly, and Stephen chuckles.

**  
_[three...]_**  
Caldwell leaves for the _Daedalus_ not much later – "We old folks need our sleep more than we need to see a clock change time," he jokes before wishing them both a good night – leaving John and Elizabeth on their own. She walks over to the window overlooking the Stargate and stares out, looking pensive. John thinks he knows why.

"Hell of a year, huh?" he observes, putting his feet up in her recently vacated spot.

"Aren't they all?" she asks rhetorically, then without turning around adds, "And get your boots off my couch."

He blinks, then lowers his feet.

**  
_[two...]_**  
"So, any New Year's resolutions?"

John's sitting on her desk now, and she shifts her gaze to his reflection in the window when she answers. "Just the usual," she says. "You know, don't spend quite so much time working, eat more regularly, try to be more patient with Rodney when he starts talking about things no one else but Radek understands…." He chuckles, and she turns to face him, suddenly curious. "What about you? Any goals for this year?"

"Improve my golf score and beat Teyla at least once in hand-to-hand," he replies promptly, and she starts to laugh.

**  
_[one...]_**  
"Happy new year, Elizabeth."

She's close enough that he can smell her shampoo and feel her breath on his face. It's probably a bad idea, but she's looking at him in that way that makes him think things he knows he shouldn't, so he kisses her.

It isn't intense, but it's not quite chaste, either. In that moment, John makes a new resolution: this year, they're going to figure out what, exactly, is going on between them. Not tonight, but he's got three hundred and sixty-five days to work up the nerve to ask her.

"Happy new year, John."

_\--end--_


End file.
